


Mutual Crushing

by kittycat_beans



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:27:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25405354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittycat_beans/pseuds/kittycat_beans
Summary: You and Abby have something in common: you both are crushing on each other.
Relationships: Abby (The Last of Us)/Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 43





	Mutual Crushing

It was funny how you two met…

You two met each other in the longest and most boring briefing session ever. In a room full of eager teens, you ended up sitting next to one another while a man wearing a military uniform explained how the things at WLF worked. Most of the lesson wasn't even for you but as a newcomer, they shoved you in a group of physically inept people and put you all next to very buff, very serious looking soldiers.

It made you feel so out of place being next to a woman who looked like she could crush a melon with her bare hands while you looked like you had never heard what 'muscles' and 'height' were.

Your puberty surely must not have known because while those around you developed, you still looked a bit like a teenager. But its wasn't awful -- you didn't want to go out and risk your life fighting. You were fine doing manual labor your body could handle; it wasn't much with your chronic fatigue but you did your best to be helpful to those who needed you.

Your routine at the base consisted of waking up before the Sun was out to do inventory checks for the groups that were leaving on missions. Eating something once the cafeteria opened for breakfast and then go into the storage facilities to move boxes and bags around. Once you had what the soldiers needed you went to the 'loading room', a place next to the shooting range where everyone stocked up on ammunition, flares, tools, supplies and registered to leave. Then you had lunch in a small cubicle while doing maintenance on guns before the group came back and someone else took over your station.

It was uneventful but what else would you do? It wasn't like you had many options and it was still a lot better than being in a room alone all day. At least you could always see people coming and going. Not exactly talk to them much because God hadn't been kind enough to grace you with people skills.. but you enjoyed watching them. Seeing new and old faces.

One day while you were about to do your shift, you noticed a familiar person leaning on the counter. It was impossible not to recognize the braid; you didn't even see her face and you were already calling out her name. The polite smile she gave you put a faint shade of pink on your cheeks. You remembered her from the briefing session and how she had tried to make small-talk with you then. You didn't completely ignore her but you weren't the most talkative of the group so getting you to feel comfortable enough to ramble was something that took some effort.

 _"Abigail Anderson? I'm sorry for taking so long. Did you need to register?"_ , your more formal tone made her chuckle. She insisted you call her 'Abby' like the rest of the WLF. You crossed the barrier next to the counter and started sorting out papers to sign.

The blonde looked at you with an amused grin on her gorgeous features. " So this is what you ended up doing, uh? Guess it beats having to scrub blood off of clothes. Can't be very exciting, though!", she showed everything she would need and you filled out the form. A type of rifle she always seemed to pick, a handgun, two rounds of bullets for each and a roll of clean bandages and a small bottle of ointment.

 _"I was surprised at how quick they found me something to do. I guess a job where others carry most of the stuff and that lets you sit is better than slouching with pain…",_ you gave her a brief rundown of your condition and how you couldn't do a lot of heavy work. It was nice that your superiors cared about your well-being enough to put you working on a spot that asked more of your head than body.

Abby took your pen and scribbled down a signature before handing you the papers. "That's kind of rough. Yeah, wouldn't be good having you run around and having to climb and stuff. We all have to hit the gym to make sure we're in shape. Not many chances to sit down and relax nowadays with all the Scars…", she sighed and started to pack supplies.

You gave a shrug, _"At least you can go outside and be around people. I'm fine on my own but…it gets a little depressing only looking at guns all day."_ , with a stamp over her name you pushed a button near the wall and the large metal gate slowly opened.

The blonde pursed her lips, looking back at you before leaving. You sighed and closed the gate, sitting down on your stool to do what you did every single day until late afternoon came and you saw her again. For some reason seeing her walk through the gate made you feel better. You guessed being holed up in a room all the time would make even the most antisocial of people want to see another human.

 _"Hello, Abby. How was your day?",_ the fact that she seemed surprised at your question must have meant it wasn't common to actually talk about missions. At least not with people who weren't involved in them.

Abby gave you a tired smile, unpacking things and setting them on the table. "Same old. Had to deal with a few strays. Got shot in the leg by an arrow. Let me tell you…those bastards have good aim…", she laughed when you leaned over the counter to take a look at her leg. Seeing the blood on the bandages made you feel queasy and you had to sit down.

 _"You should get that checked out. Damn, I don't know how you do it… I probably would've passed out if I saw an arrow in my leg…",_ you cringed at the thought and took quick note of the guns she brought back and the few bullets left for the rifle.

The soldier rubbed at her neck, placing a small cloth on the counter in front of you "Maybe don't register that?", she gave you a smile. You looked down at the cloth, wondering what it was. With a pluck from her fingers, she revealed a keychain.

 _"I don't think it needs it? We only register guns and the sort. Personal items aren't important unless it's technology or car pieces. That sort of stuff.",_ you smiled. Abby did the same, pushing the keychain in your with her finger. You looked at her, confused.

She laughed nervously, "I thought…maybe you could use something to make it easier to find your keys.", she pointed at a board where several keys were hanging. Cabinets, storage, the shooting range, all things you and your co-workers had acess to.

For a moment you considered telling her you had memorized all of the keys based on the number on them but seeing her smile and poke at the trinket, you accepted with a shy smile, avoiding her eyes.

 _"Oh, thank you. That's…that'd be nice…",_ you decided to put the small surf-board on the keys to your room. She seemed happy with her choice and you couldn't look her in the face with how goofy your smile was. You thanked her again and she waved you off, leaving you to finish things for the day.

Two days passed without seeing Abby. It made your job feel more tedious. You felt strange thinking about her so often but she was so different from the others. She had actually stopped to talk to you and even sneaked you a keychain. The other WLF never gave you much besides 'good morning' and they certainly never brought you anything from outside.

Oh my god, did you really have a tiny crush on Abby just because she was nice to you? How lame…

But there you were, waiting for time to pass and hoping she would show up just to make your day a little bit more interesting. Between counting bullets and cleaning guns, another boring day passed.

The next day was a lot better! 

You saw her come in with a tall, bearded man and she went straight for the counter to have a word with you while Manny took care of picking out guns and supplies. You tried not to smile too wide, fidgeting with the keychain in your pocket when she placed her elbows on the counter and leaned towards you.

"Hey, how's work been?", the blonde smiled.

You looked over the counter at her leg and she gave it a little shake to show you it was fully healed.

 _"Good to see you're better. Work's been…",_ you made puffing sound with your lips. _"Are you out to chase down strays again?"_ , your eyes looked at the man and then back at her, feeling an odd jealousy.

Abby nodded, "Me and Manny today. Some kids started a fight so they're on time out. We got to see the outskirts. Heard there were infected.", she looked at your papers, a good chunk of the front one full.

You sighed, _"Today will be a mess. Got trucks coming in so that's a whole afternoon just sorting inventory. On the bright side, you might have some new guns to try on your next mission."_

The blonde tapped on the counter, letting you register Manny and her's things for the day. Once he started packing away from you, you spoke again.

 _"Good luck. Uh, hope you don't get hurt…",_ you lowered your head, still playing with the keychain.

She smiled, "Maybe I'll catch you after work. We can get dinner together at the cafeteria..."

Your eyes widened and you put your hands over your lap, feeling your face heat up. _"Oh, uh… Don't know how much work I'll have until I see what's in the trucks so…maybe…I might not be able to…"_

Abby blinked, "Oh, alright…", and waved you off.

You felt stupid for rejecting her offer but you had panicked. Why would she want to have dinner? You sunk into the stool, watching her pass the gate.

Your afternoon was awful. Your co-workers carried boxes all day and you had to go through stuff and update a lot of lists. You had to count each bullet for each gun and after a while, you just wanted to stand up and leave. Stuck in a room, you didn't even know how late it was until you heard a knock on the door.

 _"W-what are you doing here?",_ you looked up from your mess of papers to the blonde, smiling at you.

"I thought…since you couldn't leave that…maybe I could just get you food and we could eat together so you didn't have to abandon uh…", she gestured at the crates, your co-workers pretending not to see her.

You scratched at your arm, _"Oh, I…I guess I should eat. Been a while since lunch…"_ , and you stood up after you co-workers told you to take a quick break.

Abby beamed at you, hopping on a box in the hall and handed you a sandwhich. You shouldn't have let her sat on the crate but…you did the same. You took the sandwhich and smiled before taking a bite.

For some reason she started bringing you food whenever possible and you two ate together after you finished your shift. She also brought you a few small things from outside that you started putting on the desk in your room. A plastic figurine of some action super-heroine, another keychain but of a tiny elephant, sometimes she brought you magazines to read during your breaks. Nothing too amazing to most but to you, they meant everything in the world.

After two months of eating in the hallway and putting trinkets in the shelves of your room, you gathered the courage to ask her if she would like to spend your day off with her. She agreed and you two ended up dating a week later. You never asked her to be your girlfriend but you guessed after the brief kiss you two shared under the steps to the stadium, she must have liked you as much as you liked her.


End file.
